The teachers in the Dumont school district have been working under an expired contract for approximately 2 years. Initially the teachers requested a 9% increase in salary over 3 years, the board offered 7.5%. During this time, mediators have been brought in to settle the dispute. A non partial Fact Finder report came back stating that an 8.4% increase was not only fair and comparable to similar town, but that the town currently had the money to pay the increase. The teachers union accepted this recommendation but the BOE did not, stating that it would not leave them with enough discretionary funds.

Dumont Schools have continued to exceed state standards and have continued to score better on standardized tests than towns with comparable demographics, yet the teachers are not being compensated equally. We cannot deny that a large majority of this success can be attributed to an outstanding teaching and support staff. Having such a successful school system not only benefits those of us with children, but it also increases the value of our properties. Not to mention that it draws people to our town. We must remain competitive with the salaries teachers receive in surrounding areas or we will lose the highly qualified educators to those towns.If this happens, not only will our children suffer, but so will the school system and our property values.

The Dumont BOE need to make our teachers a priority and pay them before money is allocated to other projects. This contract should have been renewed 2 years ago and money should have been set aside in preparation for this. The Board should not have to increase taxes and put any burden on taxpayers to cover this increase and there is a third party non partial report to back that up.

Please sign this petition and let the Board know that our amazing, dedicated hardworking teachers are our priority and we want them to end this dispute now and accept the fact finder recommendation. This is not good for their morale, our town, the school, our property, and most importantly, our children!